End of an era for Estcourt plant
IAN WYLES Auctioneers will on Wednesday and Thursday auction the assets of the Evowood board manufacturing plant. The massive two-day liquidation auction will be held on site at 57 Broomcliff Road in Estcourt.
Evowood, formerly known as Masonite, a company that had been manufacturing locally since 1942 – and one of the biggest hardboard makers in the southern hemisphere – has been placed in voluntary liquidation by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
The Estcourt mill was the town’s biggest employer and its closure resulted in the loss of 460 permanent jobs as well as temporary jobs.
For what is probably the biggest auction yet staged in the KZN town founded in the mid-19th century by Thomas Estcourt, an English parliamentarian who sponsored the immigration of settlers into the area, the auctioneer wielding the gavel be Ian Wyles himself.
He will call for bids for the following huge selection of board manufacturing assets:
● On Wednesday at 10am, the lots will include hard- and softboard manufacturing equipment including stock tanks, dryers, hydra pulpers, dust plants, storage tanks, presses, saws, sanders, kilns, compressors and diverse vehicles which range from log loaders to a locomotive.
● The assets for Thursday’s auction, also to start at 10am, include engineering workshops and equipment such as gearbox and motor repair items; pattern and carpenter workshops; printing rooms; a fabrication plant and storerooms.
The terms and rules of the disposal are on www.ianwyles.co.za with further information available at 031 579 4403 or 082 601 3883 or email eunice@ianwyles.co.za. – Auctions Writer